“TEST THE SPIRITS”

4 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

1 John 4:1

“Test the spirits.” You probably have heard of it, but what does it mean?

In today’s verse, John transitions from the topic of love to truth. He zeroes in on doctrinal tests and stresses the importance of obedience to sound teaching. He also draws attention to the difference between the Holy Spirit and the false spirits.

John tells his readers to be vigilant and avoid being gullible. Not every teacher promotes truth. He doesn’t want them to entrust their loyalty to teachers, just because they present themselves as preachers of God’s word. So, he commands them to “test” the false teachers’ doctrines. The word “test” comes from the Greek “dokimazo,” meaning, “to examine, scrutinize, prove, i.e., to see whether a thing is genuine or not.” It is a word used for assessing metals to identify their purity and value.

John entreats his beloved brothers and sisters to watch out for the false teacher’s “spirit” (“pneuma”), in this case, it speaks of spiritual manifestations, i.e., the attitude and approach of a certain teacher. The Bible tells us to rule over our own spirit (Proverbs 16:32) and warns against being controlled by the wrong spirit (Luke 9:55 KJV). In other words, we can submit to either the spirit of error or the spirit of truth.

He expects his readers to recognize and avoid false prophets (“pseudoprophetes”), “people who act the part of a divinely inspired prophet, utters falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies.” They may sound right, but when their teachings are compared to biblical doctrine, they fall far off. That is to say, they are teaching lies.

Even though at least one of the Apostles was still living when this epistle was written, Satan’s advocates somehow managed to infiltrate the church. For this reason, Christians should stay vigilant. They can’t afford to let themselves be duped by anyone posing as a messenger of Christ.

To those who lack biblical discernment, detecting false teachers can be really hard because counterfeit teachers tell a lot of truth. Think of it this way: if everything they say is false, who would listen to them?

Some preachers try to play it safe and avoid teaching doctrine. Instead, they become life coaches and motivational speakers. They claim that doctrine is not essential; all that matters is “God loves you.” Let me tell you this: if you’re not being taught sound doctrine, think about what you’re missing out on. Are you encouraged to know the biblical Jesus? Are you instructed to yield to the Spirit daily? Are you inspired to read the Bible regularly and apply its principles?

Believers should exercise discernment in any teaching—being too open-minded is an expressway to deception. We should have a healthy skepticism (MacArthur) and examine a preacher’s teaching. Just because someone speaks in the pulpit doesn’t mean he speaks the truth. Test the spirits.

Pursue the Savior today!

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